The city of New York finds itself enveloped in rising fear following the cold-blooded murder of the CEO of UnitedHealthcare. The grim situation escalates as parallels are drawn between the assassin’s style and the character of the notorious sniper, depicted by Eddie Redmayne, in the series ‘The Day of the Jackal’. Surveillance footage reveals chilling details of the assassin, with his head shrouded in a hood, a backpack on his back, and an e-bike for quick escape, eerily resonating with the Jackal’s modus operandi. The targeted assassination of Brian Thompson on a Manhattan street just before his scheduled appearance at a UnitedHealthcare investor conference at the Hilton has thrown the city into a state of alarm.
An inside source revealed, ‘I cannot overlook the uncanny resemblances between the two – their attire, method of escape, and unflinching resolve. It all rings so familiar. What makes it even more unnerving is the thought that the killer is still at large in New York.’ The father of two had served UnitedHealthcare for a commendable twenty years. Following a seven-year tenure in management consultancy at PWC, Thompson took up various leadership roles across departments, including the Medicare division, eventually securing the CEO position of the $610 billion company that ranks eight on Fortune’s Global 500 list.
As per sources, Thompson had an estimated annual remuneration of $10 million. He was reportedly embroiled in a lawsuit regarding insider trading accusations, filed by the City of Hollywood Firefighters’ Pension Fund. Controversially, the suit maintained Thompson had profited by $15.1 million through the sale of shares prior to a publicized Department of Justice investigation into UnitedHealthcare. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren had requested SEC to delve into the claims. Records indicate that UnitedHealthcare had, just a week prior to the incident, sought to have the case dismissed.
Joseph Kenny, New York’s Chief of Detectives, declined to share possible motives for the murder during Wednesday morning’s press briefing. ‘While we acknowledge that it appears the victim was deliberately targeted, we are yet to ascertain the motive at this stage,’ shared Kenny. Widowed by the tragic incident, Paulette, Thompson’s wife, disclosed that there had previously been threats potentially spurred by his position at the helms of a massive health care insurance corporation, boasting 52 million customers globally, of which 90 percent are based in the U.S.
Paulette revealed ‘Indeed, he had mentioned receiving threats a few times. Perhaps a case of claim denial or issues with coverage – I am not extensively informed about the specifics. All I am cognizant of are the threats he shared about.’ Within the storm of speculation, theories hinting at a disgruntled claimant infuriated over claim rejection, a bitter employee, corporate rivalry or even sabotage haven’t been dismissed.
An interesting angle to the investigation focuses on the killer’s professional handling of the shooting, his illegal possession of a silencer in New York, and his adaptive tactics to clear a weapon malfunction, which all suggest that he could possibly be an experienced shooter or be professionally trained. Despite these indicators, investigators are hesitant to immediately label this as a professional hit due to apparent lapses in execution.
It has been debated whether a professional hitman would allow his image to be documented on a surveillance camera in Starbucks, or neglect to keep his phone on his person, or even inadvertently leave behind DNA traces or fingerprints on a discarded water bottle and candy wrapper. All these overlooked aspects lead police to believe that the assassin could indeed be an amateur, whose motivation could stem from rage, revenge, or another unknown trigger.